Ma Cherie, Dior: J'Adore... Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture FW 2012-13

PARIS, July 3, 2012

By Tim Blanks

Giorgio Armani's morning-to-midnight scenario gave him the perfect excuse to offer his clients an entire wardrobe in the most traditional sense of haute couture. If that didn't make for his most drama-laden show, that's scarcely the point when you are as absorbed by the exigencies of daily dressing as Mr. Armani is.

Nor was the kind of woman who would arise to don the pale blues and lilacs paired with black velvet pants that were part of the matinal Armani offering really the point. His point was this: easy jackets with a broad, slightly peaked shoulder, trousers with a generous volume, flat shoes. And Armani has made this point so convincingly throughout his career that its reiteration here could be called icing on a billion-dollar cake.

There were dresses, the best being a pair of lean cocktail numbers in lavender and mauve organza. Armani's tendency to pair models on the catwalk, coupled with the subtly exaggerated makeup, gave these looks a slightly android Blade Runner appeal that underscored the futurism that infuses Armani's work. So did his headgear. The little black berets by Philip Treacy and the beaded veils created a through line of uniformity.

Armani said it was mystery he was after with those veils, and to his credit, when Aymeline Valade eased down the catwalk in folds of midnight organza, her shoulders veiled in tulle, her features subtly concealed, it was mystery he got.